Because his background is more oriented to viticulture, Matthies works closely with Shawn Walters, owner of One World Winery Consulting. In response to a question concerning his winemaking background, Walters, who began working in wineries 18 years ago as a cellar rat, noted, “I’ve learned in the school of hard knocks—no formal training, just 18 crushes.” He was winemaker and vineyard manager at Leelanau Wine Cellars for a number of years before deciding he preferred making “artisan wines” for smaller, boutique wineries. He now consults for a number of northern Michigan wineries.

French Road Cellars is designed to be a 20,000-case facility. It currently has cooperage for 6,000 cases, with stainless steel tanks on order for another 4,000 cases, in order to handle the anticipated volume during harvest in 2010. Its equipment includes a Milani destemmer-crusher that is designed to destem grapes while leaving the berries whole; a Enoveneta bladder press; and a Fimer nine-spout bottling line that can handle 400 cases per day with either a cork or screwcap finish. The press has a capacity of 3 tons.

Walters sees French Road Cellars as a great opportunity for the local wine industry. “We can help smaller growers be successful in getting into the business of making wine,” Walters stated. “They can bring us the fruits of their labors, and we can help them produce clean, well-made, varietally expressive wines.”

This is the 2008 harvest of ice wine, a dessert wine that Eaker considers nectar of the gods. “There is no way to describe the beauty, elegance and special nature of ice wine,” Eaker says, insisting that appreciation can only be conveyed through taste.

Vintners make ice wine from healthy grapes left on vines to freeze. The grapes are pressed when still frozen, and the highly concentrated juice becomes a distinctive, aromatic dessert wine after a long fermentation. Walters emailed me several days before today’s brittle-cold harvest, predicting that today would be the day for the picking. If I wanted to experience the moment, I needed to quickly rearrange my schedule and drive four hours north to Leelanau Peninsula.

Full-time winemaker and part-time weather forecaster, Walters is one of Northern Michigan’s premiere vintners. Walters was winemaker at one of Michigan’s largest wineries, Leelanau Wine Cellars, for several years before taking the helm as winemaker at 45 North, in Lake Leelanau. He also owns One World Winery Consulting and makes wine for nearly a dozen wineries. As consulting winemaker for Longview Winery, Walters raked in 22 medals in Longview’s first year of operation alone. He boasts hundreds of medals for wines he has crafted, yet he’s still a few years shy of 40.

“I’ve had this idea in mind for a number of years,” Matthies said. “This way we can concentrate solely behind the counter, and not worry about the marketing and the sales and everything … that’s a whole ‘nother ball game.”

Matthies has deep roots in northern Michigan wine. He’s the son of Dan Matthies, owner of Chateau Fontaine in Lake Leelanau, who’s among the pioneers of Leelanau vintners and vineyard sales and development. Doug worked in vineyard management for 20 years, including a stint as vineyard manager for Leelanau Wine Cellars, among Michigan’s top wine producers.

He’s also run his own Big Paw Vineyard Services for the past decade, planting vineyards, building trellises and pruning and maintaining area grape-growing properties.

Matthies combines his experience in vineyard management with Shawn Walters’ knowledge. Walters is a former wine maker for Leelanau Wine Cellars who owns One World Winery, a consulting firm that works with a handful of area wineries. The two offer suggestions and advice based on the fruit that other wine makers bring in and the type of product they want.

“You’ve got to have something good come out on the other end,” Walters said. “That’s a huge part of it.”

Okay, since the inception of Bottoms Up, I have been touting the local wine industry. Regular readers by now should be aware that wines from Northern Michigan have been garnering worldwide praise by top industry critics, and winning several top medals at major international wine competitions.

But as with anything new, there are always comparisons, and certainly wines from this region have and always will be compared to those from California. It wasn’t too long ago that the west coast was looking for its own respect on the world stage. They earned that by beating out the French in major tasting competitions and eventually seeing the distributions of California wines throughout Europe. But proud European wine regions would never consider making wine with grapes from California.

So certainly hell would have to freeze over before wineries from Napa or Sonoma Valley would ever think to make wine from grapes grown in Northern Michigan. Well, the devil is surely taking up hockey because California has come to the Leelanau Peninsula in search of grapes. Scott Harvey, a 30-year veteran California winemaker, who’s in search of finding the best possible Riesling grapes, ended up on the Leelanau Peninsula.

Harvey built his reputation on Zinfandel grapes from Amador County and Cabernet Sauvignon from Napa, and when he launched his Jana Winery (named after his wife) a couple of years ago in Napa Valley, he wanted to include great Rieslings. “I found that the Leelanau Peninsula produces legendary Riesling, closest in style to its traditional European heritage,” he said.

But instead of trucking the grapes to California to make the wine, he chose to contract winemaker Shawn Walters (45 North and Longview, the two newest wineries on the Leelanau Peninsula) to make the wine. “I am proud to be associated with one of the new stars of American winemaking,” said Harvey. “In my opinion Shawn Walters is going to be the winemaker who will end up putting Michigan wines on the map.”

Wow, hell must be frozen over for a world renowned California winemaker to not only come to Northern Michigan to find grapes, but to allow for a winemaker from here to make the wine. The 2007 vintage of Jana Riesling from the Leelanau Peninsula will be out this spring and the 330 cases will be distributed to 30 states (although most of it will be on shelves and wine lists in Napa Valley) including Michigan. Additional information is at scottharveywines.com.

Your wine certainly knocked the feet out from under the judges and caused a great stir. They were so impressed by your wine that we were forced for the first time ever, to create a Best Pacific Rim Rosé Wine category. Beautiful wine!

About 2000 wines were entered by close to 400 wineries, we had 54 Rosé and Blush wines. Your wine competed against all of the reds which totaled 954 entries. It came in second to the Grand Champion (Barbera by Jeff Runquist), and the judges were so upset at the lack of a Best Rosé Award that it was agreed we had to create one. You have made history.

You will be receiving the printed results book and medals in the near future. All of the results are attached.